Refugee found hiding in car glove box in desperate attempt to reach Europe

A refugee travelling from Morocco has been pictured stashed in a car glove box, while others trying to cross the border were rescued from an engine compartment and a dump truck.

He was one of three people discovered in dangerous conditions inside vehicles at the border in Beni-Enzar, Morocco, within the space of three hours, the Spanish civil guard said.

A fourth person, a 20-year-old man of African origin, was found earlier in the day hidden in the base of a dump truck, where he was in danger of being crushed by the vehicle’s axles.

He had to be helped out of the truck by rescuers at the port of Melilla, a Spanish enclave on the north African coast.

Officers shared a picture of a man in his twenties hiding behind a car’s dashboard, while another person was found behind a car’s rear seats.

Morocco has become a point of access for undocumented African migrants to cross into Europe.

The refugees included a 15-year-old girl, a 21-year-old man and a 20-year-old man.

Two had to be treated by medics for asphyxia, disorientation and joint pain.

Three people – who were the drivers of the intercepted cars – have been arrested.

They are all Moroccan men, without ties to Melilla, and are aged 19, 30 and 31.

This latest case follows other attempts to cross into Melilla, after two men were discovered hiding inside mattresses strapped to the top of a van in January.

The footage was posted on Twitter by Jon Inarritu, a senator from the Basque separatist party EH Bildu, who said that incidents such as these would continue to occur while there remained a lack of safe ways to seek asylum.

In October last year, one African migrant died and three others were injured when around 300 people stormed the Melilla border fence.